By Kyle Duggan

EASTHAMPTON, Mass. — Local brewery Mountainous Beer Company recently announced that Hop Gun: Maverick, one of their many pun-based beers, had been the target of a cease and desist letter from Paramount Pictures.

“I couldn’t be happier. This just shows that all our hard work is paying off,” said Morgan Leary, the brewery’s owner and head brewer. “I knew extending our distribution would be worth it. Important people are noticing us. Of course, we’ll be complying with the order immediately. I honestly think we may actually have a case, but if we challenged this, we would be bankrupt by the time I shook our lawyer’s hand and said, ‘Hello.’”

Regular patron Kevin Godard said he was shocked by the news, despite Mountainous taking liberties with several other beer names.

“I bet Tom fucking Cruise would love this beer,” said Godard, who noted that it was hard to avoid making puns when talking about Mountainous. “I mean, Paramount? Come on, they’re lightweights. Disney is famously litigious, but Morgan has been making Guardians of Galaxy Hops for years without incident. I’m pretty sure he even uses official Power Rangers art for his seasonal Go Go Sour Rangers series, but you don’t hear a peep out of Hasbro. ”

Marvin Kimbley, the Paramount lawyer who sent the cease and desist letter, further explained the circumstances surrounding the legal demand.

“One of our executives happened to be at Mountainous for his niece’s wedding rehearsal dinner,” said Kimbley, who admitted he did not understand the pun in the beer’s name. “When he saw this on the menu, he shot me an email right away. Sure, it’s not like anyone is ever going to hear of this podunk brewery in the Berkshires or drink this beer, but they don’t pay me seven figures to let the little things slide. They don’t call me ‘C&D Kimbley’ for nothin!”

Following the initial Facebook post, Leary announced that he hoped to steer clear of future litigation by avoiding puns based on media properties. He plans to rename the beer Johnny Depp Committed Domestic Abuse.